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It’s a scene from Lord of the Rings. Sunrise on a cold, dusty plain. Horseman riding by in the mist, multi-colored blankets wrapped around the shoulders. And in the distance, the grey plume of a volcano, rising in a tight column from a smoky caldera. I must be in Mordor. The only thing missing are […]

When my brother Brian first moved to Israel, I must admit I wondered if he was making the right move. “I mean, Bri, isn’t it dangerous there?” As it turns out, Israel is pretty much like everywhere else. You stay away from the risky areas and otherwise just go about living your life. The same […]

Located off the tip of India, the Maldives are a submerged mountain range whose tips create more than 1,000 little islands and coral reefs. Just getting to one of their island resorts is a breathtaking experience, looking down at all of the ocean beauty from the window of a seaplane. The island of Soneva Fushi […]

The spring of my college graduation, I stumble onto a campus screening of The Razor’s Edge, a moderately successful Bill Murray movie based on the book by Somerset Maugham. It wasn’t a “great” movie. Murray has a tendency to do schtick when he should probably be playing it more seriously. Nevertheless, the film hits its […]

“Mom, Dad, I want to go to Paris.” Looking back, I sure had some chutzpah at age 20, asking my parents to let me go on an exchange program to Paris. This wasn’t something you did in our family! Traveling abroad. Spending money recklessly. Stepping off the academic path. But I desperately wanted to go. […]

Like a treasure hunt, travel is all about puzzle solving. What is the best way to get to that castle? How do I ask for a napkin in French? Who do I talk to about replacing my lost international driver’s license? But there are some puzzles that defy explanation or solution. Like the whistling squirrels. […]

I love passively taking pictures as much as the next guy. And these days, who needs to carry a bag full of fancy lenses, right? Cell phones have made it so easy to just snap and shoot. However, there are times when taking a photo just isn’t enough, when you can no longer be passive, […]

To travel is to be constantly surprised. My wife and I are traveling from Bangkok down to the Gulf of Thailand in search of a tropical beach. As the light fades, we decide to stop in a little town along the way. According to the guide books, Phetchaburi means “city of diamonds,” but don’t let […]

To paraphrase John F. Kennedy, we travelers often choose our travel locations “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” It’s 1988 and in Turkey, making my way cross-country from west to east. My final destination will eventually be Mount Ararat, another Wow place, the speculative location of Noah’s Ark. But today, I’m […]

To be sure, travel is wonderful. But more than occasionally, it’s hard. That’s why it’s so important to find “havens” on your trips — safe harbors – places where you can take a moment to recover and recharge before throwing yourself back into the fray. One such Wow place I stumbled into was the tiny […]